The educational results of the TangIn project were used by young students

In collaboration with Academia Letras Mágicas a workshop was promoted addressing young students from 4^th and 5^th grades and enabling the promotion and use of the TangIn lesson plans.

 

Academia Letras Mágicas is a is a study and explanation center where students perform their homework and educational activities and are prepared for school evaluations under the guidance and supervision of certified teachers. Together with some of the TangIn researchers, a workshop was organized with the participation of 11 students from the 4^th and 5^th grades.

The objective was to use three topics and lesson plans of the TangIn toolbox and perform the exercises proposed. The lessons chosen were: “Animals Characteristics”, “Connecting Dots” and “Angels” all covering different STEM-based topics and presenting to students different levels of complexity.

The feedback was very positive and students’ enthusiasm was noticed during the workshop. All felt included and part of the proposed activities and all participants have in fact the opportunity to perform and not just watch to what others were doing. Furthermore, some of the young students were already familiar with the concepts of tangible programming and were very happy to “teach” the others some basics of tangible programming and guide them through the use of a physical interface such as the robot and the blocks.

It was an opportunity for real collaborative work among students and knowledge building among peers, even if with the general guidance of one teacher, and also for real students’ inclusion. At the end of the session, all the participants were in fact at the same level of ability to solve the proposed “challenges” in the lesson plans, using tangible programming concepts, while at the same time learning STEM-based topics.

If you wish to learn more about the project, consult the project website (www.tangin.eu) or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tanginproject.